Man who sold heroin from Short Pump parking lots sentenced to 10 years

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. – A Henrico County man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for distributing “significant quantities” of heroin in parking lots throughout Short Pump.

Shawn Lamont Bailey, 45, plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and a possession with intent to distribute heroin. Bailey’s plea deal allowed him to serve between 8 and 10 years in prison versus facing up to life in prison for each charge.

Law enforcement previously called him “one of the more careful drug dealers they have arrested.”

The Henrico man was the principal organizer of a heroin distribution network in the Richmond area, according to prosecutors.

Bailey landed on the radar in June 2013, when police were investigating an overdose death, said Matthew C. Ackley, a deputy commonwealth’s attorney. Police utilized phone records of the young woman who died and determined where she got her heroin, which eventually led to Bailey.

Shawn Lamont Bailey

A large investigation, involving local police and the Drug Enforcement Administration, determined that Bailey distributed only to other drug dealers.

“He was pretty religious about replacing his phones. He was extremely careful,” said Ackley.

He would drive to New York City about every other week, then sort and pack the dope from his West Broad Village apartment, Ackley said.

Bailey dealt in plain sight in parking lots throughout suburban Short Pump. He met dealers outside locations like Home Depot, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Target, supplying them with anywhere from half an ounce to a couple of ounces of heroin.

Ackley explained that officers witnessed hand to hand exchanges, saw Bailey pull heroin from the center console of the vehicle and cash exchanges were made.

Police arrested Bailey on July 6, 2016, after tracking him for three years. He had around a quarter kilogram, or roughly eight ounces of heroin.